Trade Group Says IP Cable Services Not Distributed Over The Internet Covered By Existing Rules

PITTSBURGH, October 20,
2011 - To
achieve the goal of enhancing the ability of consumers to access video
programming on the Internet, the American Cable Association encouraged the FCC to
distinguish with care the entities covered by the new Internet Protocol closed captioning
obligations from those already imposed on cable operators using IP to
distribute the programming included with their cable service. ACA supports the implementation of federal
rules requiring online video programming providers and distributors to ensure consumers
receive captions included with video programming that was first aired on
television.

"ACA
members have a long and successful history of complying with the FCC's current closed
captioning rules, including where their cable service is delivered using IP. This has enabled the delivery of closed captioning
to consumers who need and have grown to expect these services. Still, the FCC must be careful to avoid
disrupting the current successful captioning framework by creating duplicative
and potentially conflicting obligations on cable operators using IP to deliver
their services," ACA President and CEO Matthew M. Polka said.

The
FCC has been charged by Congress with implementing the Twenty-First Century
Video Accessibility Act (CVAA), which expands closed captioning mandates to
include video programming once published or exhibited on television and
delivered using Internet Protocol. ACA
members that provide cable service already pass through all closed captioning
data that is made available with programming and ensure the compatibility of
set-top equipment under rules first adopted by the FCC in 1997. These closed captioning mandates apply regardless
of the distribution technology.

In
comments filed Tuesday with the FCC, ACA stressed the need to keep separate
the cable and online worlds within the context of the CVAA's new closed
captioning mandates. Cable operators covered
by existing closed captioning rules that use IP but do not distribute
programming over the Internet beyond their local franchise areas should remain
subject only to the existing closed captioning rules, ACA said.

"The
FCC must specify that traditional cable operators and the services that they offer
remain subject solely to existing closed captioning obligations and dispute
resolution mechanisms," Polka said.

By
passing the CVAA, Congress intended to make closed captioning a dependable
feature of the online video world, not to impose confusing and unworkable
obligations on cable operators, ACA said.
The FCC in the Comcast-NBCU proceeding recognized a distinction between
online video distributors-"OVDs"-and cable operators who give their cable
subscribers the ability to access their video programming online. ACA said that
the same distinction should apply to CVAA captioning mandates.

"ACA's
recommended approach will avoid unnecessary confusion and compliance burdens
and will not in any way frustrate the intent of the law, which is to use closed
captioning mandates to expand access to video programming over the Internet for
our hearing-impaired citizens," Polka said.

Regarding
the creation of complaint procedures, ACA said it agreed with the FCC's
recommended approach of looking to established policies that have not proven
unduly burdensome for smaller cable operators. The CVAA requires the FCC to not consider de minimis failures to comply as
violations of the captioning rules.

Insofar
as crafting a definition of de minimis
is concerned, ACA urged the FCC to consider how existing captioning regulations
treat de minimis failures. Those rules, ACA noted, recognize that there may
be times when it will be difficult to achieve 100% compliance. As a result, ACA
said the FCC should rely on a case-by-case approach when determining whether the
lack of captioning was in fact de minimis
and reasonable under the circumstances.

"This
is new terrain for the FCC, and ACA recommends that it tread lightly and
observe what some have called the ‘high-tech Hippocratic Oath' - first, do no
harm," Polka said.

About the American Cable Association

Based in Pittsburgh, the
American Cable Association is a trade organization representing nearly 900
smaller and medium-sized, independent cable companies who provide broadband
services for more than 7.6 million cable subscribers primarily located in rural
and smaller suburban markets across America. Through active participation
in the regulatory and legislative process in Washington, D.C., ACA's members
work together to advance the interests of their customers and ensure the future
competitiveness and viability of their business. For more information,
visit http://www.americancable.org/

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